Bone conduction impairment in uncomplicated chronic suppurative otitis media

Purpose: To study the effect of uncomplicated chronic suppurative otitis media on bone conduction thresholds and its relationship to the disease type and duration. Patients and Methods: The differences in bone conduction thresholds of diseased and contralateral ears were compared in 218 patients with unilateral uncomplicated chronic suppurative otitis media. Pure tone audiometry was carried out after successful surgery on 93 patients. Results: The study showed bone conduction threshold elevations ranging in frequency from 9.2 to 14.1 dB in the diseased ears. Approximately 39% of the patients had an average difference of more than 10 dB for bone conduction, and 12% had an average difference of 20 dB or more. Significant relationships were found between threshold elevation and the disease type and its duration. Postoperative audiograms showed no significant improvement in the bone conduction thresholds in most of the tested patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that chronic otitis media may result in clinically significant bone conduction threshold elevations that should be considered when managing uncomplicated chronic suppurative otitis media.